lecture 8 study guide Flashcards
Intelligent design
the theory that life or the universe cannot have arisen by chance and was designed and created by some intelligent entity
Natural Selection
the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring
teleology
the explanation of phenomena by the purpose they serve rather than postulated causes
adaptation
a characteristic that enhances the survival or reproduction of organisms that bear it relative to alternative character states
fitness
reproductive success as measured by the average per capita rate of increase, also defined as survival of the form that will leave the most copies of itself in successive generations, consists of survival and reproduction
Levels of selection
genetic selection, individual selection, and group selection
aposematism
a warning signal to potential predators that prey are toxic or noxious
batesian mimicry
the resemblance in appearance of palatable or harmless species to an unpalatable or dangerous species that is usually avoided by predators
mullerian mimicry
the resemblance of an unpalatable or dangerous species to another an unpalatable or dangerous species
competitive exclusion principle
two competing species that use exactly the same resources cannot coexist indefinitely, one will be eventually driven to extinction
Resouce or niche partitoning
species divide limited resouces to reduce compitition
Character displacement
the phenomenon where differences among similar species whos distributions overlap geographically are accentuated in regions were the species co-occur, but are minimized or lost where the species distributions do not overlap
group selection
a mechanism in which natural selection may favor an increase in the fitness of a group of organisms, despite a reduction in individual fitness
altruism
the behavior of an animal that benefits another at the expense of its own fitness
kin selection
natural selection in favor of behavior by individuals that increase the chance of survival of their kin